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'Long Way Up' -3rd motorcycle TV series from Ewan McGregor & Charlie Boorman

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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The first TV series about an around the world motorcycle trip, called LONG WAY AROUND, made by actors Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, The Ghost Writer, etc) and his long time friend Charlie Boorman, is often credited as the reason the sales of BMW's big adventure motorcycles have exploded during the better part of the past decade.

The show was a real life drama about their trip, sometimes funny, often just fun, clearly inspiring to many, it showed the real hardships and the real friendship between these two men as they rode their motorcycles, often off-road, around the globe from London to London.

While Harley Davidson has seen sales drop roughly 8% per year, BMW has seen double digit sales increases yearly. Their big adventure bikes are unmistakable on the road with their opposing 2 twin cylinders laying flat and sticking out the sides of the motorcycle.

A couple years later they followed up with a series called LONG WAY DOWN, which ran from the tiny town of John O'Groats at the northern most tip of Scotland south to Cape Town, South Africa.

Word is now breaking that the duo will be doing a third in the series, possibly in 2019, called LONG WAY UP, starting in South America and terminating in Alaska. I'd presume it will be on TV in 2020 if they film it in 2019.

http://www.advpulse.com/adv-news/ewan-and-charleys-long-awaited-long-way-up-set-for-2019/

Ewan and Charley’s Long-Awaited ‘Long Way Up’ Set for 2019?
 Long-Awaited 'Long Way Up' TV series planned for the Americas.



For many the “Long Way Down” and “Long Way Round” series, following Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on their round-the-world adventure tours, are the reason they started riding Adventure Motorcycles. Now after more than a decade since their last documentary series, the pair are planning a new expedition that will see them chasing their shadows through the Americas.

“We are very much in the early planning stages at the moment,” Boorman told MCN in a recent interview. “I’m scared to say too much in case I jinx it, but hopefully it is going to happen.”

The new TV series is set to be called ‘Long Way Up’ and according to Charley, they’ll be getting the old team back together with producer Russ Malkin and the rest of Long Way Round/Down film crew. The route hasn’t been locked-in yet but the journey will most likely start in the southernmost part of South America (Ushuaia, Argentina) and continue all the way up to the northernmost point of Alaska. An expedition that would cover about 15,000 miles and last several months.

Long way Up Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor Adventure Motorcycle

“It will definitely take a few months, South America is a beautiful continent to ride through so we won’t want to rush it,” said Boorman. “It will be work, but it will also be great fun and to do it with the old team of Ewan, Russ Malkin (the producer of the first two adventures), and the rest of the Long Way crew will be fantastic.”

The big question is what motorcycles would they take this time. Ewan and Charley used the BMW R1150GS Adventure for the “Long Way Round” and the R12000GS Adventure for the “Long Way Down”. However, Charley is currently brand ambassador for Triumph and Ewan for Moto Guzzi. With BMW set to reveal the new R1250GS for 2019, the white and blue marquee could potentially be their weapon of choice.

“We are all dead keen to make it happen so fingers crossed we will be able to do it in 2019. I honestly can’t wait.”
 

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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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Looks like HARLEY DAVIDSON's new "Livewire" electric motorcycles will be the bikes of choice for the Long Way Up mini-series. This will be interesting because they have a reported "combined city/hwy" range of roughly 100 miles per charge??? That might make it hard to cover more than a couple hundred miles per day and it will be interesting to see what is in their support vehicles in terms of charging the batteries.

They are taking a couple diesel powered M-B Sprinter vans, in addition to some electric powered pick up trucks. Just have to guess there may be some generators, chargers and swappable batteries hiding in the back of those sprinters???

LINK => https://www.advpulse.com/adv-news/ewan-and-charleys-new-long-way-up-series-going-electric/

When Ewan McGregor said there would be a “twist” to his and Charlie Bloorman’s new adventure documentary “Long Way Up,” we’ll bet zero among us guessed the duo would be riding electric bikes, far less that those e-machines would be manufactured by Harley-Davidson.

But Argentinian outlets have reported that McGregor arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina with David Alexanian, director and producer of Long Way Round/Down, shortly before the arrival of four factory-crated LiveWires. – presumably two for riding, one for a cameraman and one as a backup. So yeah, no BMWs this time, or Triumphs, or even the quirkier Moto Guzzi V85 TTs McGregor promotes, the bike many guessed would be the “twist.”

Also arriving in Buenos Aires alongside the Harleys were two cutting-edge electric pickup trucks manufactured in Illinois by Rivian, a company devoted to building “Electric Adventure Vehicles.” These trucks are said to deliver up to 400 miles on a full charge, while the Harley LiveWire is claimed to provide 146 miles of stop-and-go travel per charge or roughly 95 miles of combined city/highway.

It would be tough enough to travel coast-to-coast on backroads in the U.S. without a struggle to charge up this collection of e-vehicles, so we’re assuming the additional vehicles that landed, two 4×4 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans and a single Ford F350 (V8 6.2), will carry some mobile DC fast chargers as well as crew members, spare parts and the spare bike.

A little about the 2020 LiveWire, the flagship of a forthcoming series of EVs from Harley-Davidson: Only a handful of journalists have tested this machine so far and then only during a Portland-based press launch limited mostly to city streets. Cycle World called the LiveWire “impressive and very refined,” with light handling and tons of torque of the line. In keeping with a street fighter theme, its Showa suspension is reported to ride firm. The LiveWire weighs in just over 500 pounds and costs a bundle: $29,999.

While this surprising choice of mounts will mean we’ll watch a very different adventure unfold along the windy coast of Patagonia — certainly one with fewer off-road antics — fans of McGregor won’t be surprised by his choice to showcase electric vehicles. In an interview out today in Scotland’s sundaypost.com, McGregor explains he’s been obsessed with electric vehicles for a long time. While the interview concentrates on a vintage VW bug he’s converted to e-power, he also mentions his “fascination” with Harley’s LiveWire and the future it represents: “It is exciting, and for sure it is the future. In 20 years we won’t be burning petrol in our engines any more, we will be plugging them into the wall.”

We’ll keep you posted on the progress of the e-powered posse as it presumably takes a shakedown run south along the east coast of Argentina to Tierra del Fuego and the obvious launchpad of Ushuaia. Route details have not been announced yet but Charley previously reported the journey will start in South America and continue North to Los Angeles. On the other hand, since this new journey’s first “twist” is about environmental consciousness, maybe they’ll head north toward Brazil and the vanishing Amazon.

Whatever turn it takes, the resulting adventure is sure to be interesting.
 

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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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Well now there are Instagram posts with photos confirming the LONG WAY UP trip does, in fact, have the duo riding their ELECTRIC Harley Davidson motorcycles in South America. An article in ADV Pulse provides some of the details from several various Instagram sources.

See ADV Pulse's website for full stories & details ==> https://www.advpulse.com/adv-news/ewan-and-charley-spotted-filming-long-way-up-on-electric-harleys/

Things are getting real in Patagonia for the Long Way Up cast and crew as photos posted to Instagram this weekend show Ewan McGregor leaving Ushuaia on an already muddied-up blue Harley-Davidson LiveWire.

Two of the photos were taken alongside the Perito Francisco Moreno, the low road that departs Ushuaia heading east, a location we were able to pinpoint exactly thanks to the magic of google maps. Presumably the crew had pulled over to set up for footage with the city in the background before the road joins Highway 3, which is the main route out of town.

We’ve confirmed a third shot going around the internet showing Ewan with Charley and cameraman Claudio von Planta in the background was taken outside the Hotel Lagos del Calafate, 540 miles north of Ushuaia. The photo in El Calafate was snapped by a local who supplied ADV Pulse with additional angles. The fact the team was in El Calafate late last week suggests they are moving at a fast pace.

Ewan with Charley and cameraman Claudio von Planta in the background outside the Hotel Lagos del Calafate, 540 miles north of Ushuaia.
The only thing offbeat about these photos are the LiveWires, brand new and totally unproven zero-emission electric bikes from Harley-Davidson. We can see they are kitted with wire-spoked wheels, windscreens, engine guards, highway pegs, skidplates and auxiliary lights, as well as Wolfman’s Rocky Mountain saddlebags and Enduro Fender Bags. The tail sections also appear to be reworked in order to accomodate luggage racks and a higher rear fender. Up front, the stock fenders have been swapped for ones with more coverage.

The LiveWire bikes are kitted with wire-spoked wheels, windscreens, engine guards, highway pegs, skidplates, auxiliary lights and soft luggage.
Ewan is sporting an Arai XD4 crossover helmet equipped with a Sena 30k communicator and flush-mounted video camera that might be a Sena Prism in an aftermarket cradle. Another camera, a GoPro, is mounted next to the headlight. His jacket is a waxed-leather Turner from Belstaff and gloves are Gore-Tex Universe from Dianese.

And those huge handlebar muffs! Being at the bottom of the Southern Hemisphere, winter is just turning to spring in Argentina with temperatures in the region this week ranging from just below freezing to a high of 41°F. Brrr is right, and on those electric bikes that give them less than 100 highway miles per charge, any electric gear will need to be independently charged. No problem though, since as previous spy shots showed, their chase crew includes two 4×4 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans and a single Ford F350 (as well as two electric-powered Rivian pickups).

Many adventure riders scoffed at the news McGregor and Boorman would be riding e-bikes (especially Harley-Davidson models) on their Long Way Up from Tierra del Fuego to Los Angeles, assuming it was all about the financial sponsorship. But when you think about it, any brand would be foolish not to invest in supporting this project, so the choice likely has less to do with cash than it does McGregor’s fascination with the future of EV technology.

While there may be a lack of off-road antics, this new Long Way installment is certain to be rife with the calamity and candor we’ve come to expect from this duo. Stayed tuned for additional celebrity sightings as their curious journey north continues.
 

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DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
That is a huge change (gamble). Wonder it they will be wanting to ghost ride those Livewires into the canal by the time they get there? LOVE the first two, hope this one goes as well.
 

Melensdad

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Staff member
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The ride is complete.

I've seen a couple articles that were nothing more than reports of "sightings" along the route but gave no real information so I didn't post them.

But is is now over. Not sure where they ended. What we know is that Claudio, the teams ever present cameraman and traveling companion for the past 2 adventure trips, chose to ride a gasoline powered motorcycle while Ewen & Charlie rode the HD Livewires. We also know there was a fleet of support vehicles.

The first adventure was a real adventure, with the 3 traveling around the world. The support team often following a different path, often hours or even days away. But this time that won't be the case. Interesting to see how that is integrated into the storyline.

From e-bike world => https://www.webbikeworld.com/ewan-mcgregor-and-charlie-boorman-finish-long-way-up-on-livewires/

From Ushuaia, Argentina to Los Angeles, California

When I first hear that Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman were going to take Harley-Davidson’s new LiveWire from Argentina to California for another show called Long Way Up, I was a bit skeptical. Where would they charge the bikes? Well, now the team has finished the ride and they made it all the way on the electric motorcycles.

According to ADVPulse, the guys got charges along the way. Locals helped them charge the bikes and even they sometimes charged with gas generators, which goes against the whole not-using-gas thing, but oh well. The guys were flanked by a couple of Rivian trucks, and a slew of camera folks on other motorcycles. Once into the U.S. charging stations were plentiful.

They left Ushuaia, Argentina, on September 19th. The team covered between 120-180 miles each day when south of the U.S. border. From there, the team could cover about 300 miles each day. There were gas-powered support vehicles along the way carrying battery banks. With all the support it seems kind of odd to have done the trip on the LiveWire, but it’s still an interesting run. It’ll be cool to see how the bikes fared along the way and what obstacles the team came across.


I just hope it is fun to watch.

Long Way Round was fun to watch.

Long Way Down was a good idea, gone wrong somewhere along the way and lost its fun

If Long Way Up can reclaim its sense of adventure, humor, and not become a couple wealthy blokes on bikes being self proclaiming superior eco-jerks on electric bikes, showing us common folk the 'right way' to treat the planet then it might be good.

And if they show the technical potential and the actual shortcomings of the e-bikes, and share their frustrations along with their discoveries, then we also might see an entertaining show that gives us insight into new, upcoming technologies that might be applied to far more vehicles in the future. But no matter what, first and foremost I turn to the television set to be entertained and informed. Long Way Round did that job nicely, it was entertaining and it was informative. I'm hoping that Long Way Up, if it is their swan song, is reclaims fun and adventure, while also showing the realistic abilities of e-bikes.

Also interesting to see that it ended in Las Angeles. Why not Seattle? Or perhaps the Grand Canyon? Or somewhere along Route 66?

To me ending in LA, the home of all things eco-electric, where charging stations outnumber even the ever present illegal aliens, seem like a technological cop out. How about going out into the real United States where these charging systems seem to be popping up, but are not ever-present. Ride those bikes through Oklahoma where charging stations don't grow like dandelions in a summer lawn and let us see how that technology works in the civilized world.

Perhaps I'm complaining too much. I am looking forward to watching the show.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Ewan McGregor interviewed about the trip. The interview with Jimmy Fallon is short, and worth watching.

Video link => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIytmXPQJaM&list=RDLIytmXPQJaM&start_radio=1&t=0


Ewan McGregor on Electric Adventure Motorcycling, And The Elephant in the Room (Charging)

Ewan McGregor has just been on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to discuss his and Charley Boorman’s upcoming show The Long Way Up where they ride from Patagonia, Argentina, to California, USA. They rode Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles, a choice which stirred up a fair bit of controversy in the community. Just about the first question Jimmy asks is how can you keep a motorcycle charged up when most people struggle to keep their mobile phone charged during travel. What an excellent question! Ewan said they would camp out in people’s backyards and charge the bikes either together, and risk blowing a house fuse, or one at a time. They took every opportunity to charge. If they stopped in a down the first thing they did was plug the bikes in.

Charlie never ran out of charge, but Ewan ran out of “gas” at least once and had to be towed. Ewan did the trip with two Rivian R1T electric support trucks which may have been able to top up the bikes, although the heavy trucks would also have needed to conserve energy.

The Long Way Up has lent legitimacy to electric adventure-style riding and I expect will encourage the industry to invest in this market segment, although gasoline is not going away anytime soon.​
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm sorry Bob but if any normal, sensible person was to ride a motorcycle from the southern tip of Argentina to Alaska, it wouldn't be on a HD Livewire. A lot of money had to have changed hands in order to make that happen and to finance the fleet of "support" vehicles … and they gave up in Los Angeles, just over half way there. What "Long Way Up" trip finishes in freekin' Los Angeles? A long way up to where?

Nah! They capitalized on the popularity of the first two trips ands totally sold out. Sorry, that's my opinion. I'm willing to be proved wrong. Go ahead.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm sorry Bob but if any normal, sensible person was to ride a motorcycle from the southern tip of Argentina to Alaska, it wouldn't be on a HD Livewire. A lot of money had to have changed hands in order to make that happen and to finance the fleet of "support" vehicles … and they gave up in Los Angeles, just over half way there. What "Long Way Up" trip finishes in freekin' Los Angeles? A long way up to where?

Nah! They capitalized on the popularity of the first two trips ands totally sold out. Sorry, that's my opinion. I'm willing to be proved wrong. Go ahead.

I can’t prove you wrong.

McGregor is a known alternative fuel fan and an enthusiastic rider, favoring MotoGuzzi in his personal collection. But I’m sure H-D was a major sponsor of this ride to get some publicity for their new LiveWire motorcycle.

I’m also critical of stopping in LA. Would have been better if they picked up Route 66 to Chicago or maybe angled northward from LA to Thunder Bay, ON on the shoreline of Lake Superior. Terminating in California, where charging stations grow wild like lawn weeds seems like a cop-out. Test those electric bikes across the Texas panhandle or the Great Plains states if you really want to see how practical they are for long distance riding.

But I enjoy the dynamics of the duo and am hopeful the new series is entertaining.
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I’m also critical of stopping in LA. Would have been better if they picked up Route 66 to Chicago or maybe angled northward from LA to Thunder Bay, ON on the shoreline of Lake Superior. Terminating in California, where charging stations grow wild like lawn weeds seems like a cop-out. Test those electric bikes across the Texas panhandle or the Great Plains states if you really want to see how practical they are for long distance riding.

.

This.

The title is Long Way Up, not Half Way Up. H-D threw stupid money at this project and were probably over the moon when they actually made it to the States. But, considering the time when this was being filmed, continuing north in any direction would have involved colder weather. Which in turn would have meant decreased battery life. Real life? Continue on to get the bikes back to Milwaukee . . . while trying to find a charge port at the truck stop in Des Moines. During a blizzard.

My guess is that by the time LA came they were saying 'Thank God I'm off of that thing. Where's my GS so I can head to NY to catch my flight.'
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Got a new iPhone and as a promotion Apple gave me a free 3 month trial of AppleTV.

LONG WAY UP is an Apple TV exclusive. So the first thing I'm watching with my new trial subscription to AppleTV is LONG WAY UP and I have to tell you that I'm astonished at what RIVIAN and HARLEY DAVIDSON did to get their vehicles on this show. Astonished and impressed. Rivian is the builder of the support trucks, H-D is the builder of the bikes. And both companies quite literally developed prototypes and then built up the first production vehicles for this show. Rivian went further and committed to, and installed 150 charging stations in South and Central America. I'd love to know what that cost them, but it has to be in the millions.

Only a couple episodes in and I'm hooked. If you have AppleTV you might want to check out this series.
 
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